New Systems Generate New Problems
by NightmaresofMrGrimm
Summary: Herring Lee was never one for social interaction. She had a normal office job, a small part time cafe job and an average size one bedroom apartment with two cats. Then she got mixed up with the BAU and more specifically a Dr. Spencer Reid
1. Well Newton Said Push Pull Right?

There are things in life you remember with vivid clarity; the way mom looked on her wedding day, your first hot meal with friends at that new stylish apartment you'd been dreaming about or the way your nails looked the day you smacked your EX-boyfriend in front of the entire club after you found his cheating ass behind the stage with a former coworker. The brain was funny like that, only remembering those deep emotional moments.

That's why October 9 2011 didn't stick out so much. If I looked back at the calender then I would know it was a Friday. I was probably at the cafe working from noon to dusk and walked straight home after my shift. Like every Friday before, I thought nothing of it. A means to an end, or the ends towards someone else's means to which the week would end with another meaningless encounter with strange customers.

As you can probably see where this might be going, I must remind you that I remarked this day did not stick out so much. And here I am four months later failing to recall that specific date because indeed nothing happened. So why pick that day? Because it was the birthday of the man I've suddenly found myself admiring in the living room of a mere acquaintance.

My reason for coming was my lack of a social life, and even now I find myself to have faded into the general grouping of guests, but my reason for staying happened to be the lanky Dr. Reid who had picked up his cup of coffee after completely killing the buzz of conversation with a roguishly handsome fellow whose name might've begun with a "D" for all I knew. The "Genius" man had not made eye contact with me once and I was positive he didn't even realize my presence. What for? Well I was to blame for that, sitting at the edge of the couch beside two much flashier (and more developed) women whose laughs seemed to attract attention away from my quieter water-sipping demeanor.

A boisterous and slightly chubby redhead flashed me a smile from across the room to which I held back a grimace, before she turned back the host of the party. My friend Athena had dragged me to the wonderfully contemporary, albeit weird, apartment of her newest client Penelope Garcia. Aside from a part-time job at the same cafe, Athena had recently graduated cosmetology school and any client she could get was like a shining badge of freshly shampooed honor. So if that new client invited her to a party there was no possible reason not to go. Plus bringing me along meant she could down whatever and still get home safe.

Briefly my eyes found the clock. 12:28 am. I didn't have work the next day, but I had never been one for staying up late with people around. I purr-furred the company of my two cats in the comfort of my nightie with a bowl of ice cream in my own house.

I waited for a particular peak in the conversation around me before slipping into the cooler kitchen. One forgets how much body heat has an affect on the entirety of a room. I let the coolness of the counter counter my sweaty palms when a small "ehem" brought my eyes to the doorway. My throat went a bit dry, I didn't expect Reid and as that follows I didn't get him. Instead the more muscular form of D-something or other leaned against the frame.

"You don't seem like one for party's huh?"

The question was more of an observation as if he was making light of my social incompetence. I just nodded failing to see exactly what was making him smirk like that. I was right to describe him as roguish before, the look in his eyes made my teeth clench and vaguely I remembered something about him breaking up with a girlfriend not too long ago. The emptiness of the kitchen began to gnaw at my skull and I forced myself not to step away when he took a stride to grab the drink I had left beside me, lightly brushing my hand as he did.

"Water?"

He chuckled as if my choice didn't surprise him. If I didn't know any better I would've said he read into my character traits. Again I nodded and let my eyes wander to the the now open walkway where Athena was giving me the eyebrow raise of "oh he's attractive". I flashed her a "save me" but she just smiled and turned away.

"So what brings you here? Friend of Garcia's?"

I was amazed he still continued conversation and debated giving out a few more hints that I didn't want interaction. Instead I sucked it up.

"No, my friend Athena brought me. She's going to need a ride home later."

I tried for an objective tone, nobody ever wants to appear the complainer even if the person they're talking to isn't of interest.

He seemed to weigh my answer with a crossing of his arms, having put down my drink without notice.

"So her names Athena...and yours?"

The question came up so casually I almost didn't notice I was answering.

"Herring."

Shit. SHIT. shit.

The awkward silence followed, not that the conversation was even worth saving, but I frantically sought some sort of filler.

"Uh my parents were...creative."

He chuckled, laughing not at me but as if we shared some private joke. If I had a thing for muscly-gym-friendly men then maybe I would've fallen for him.

"I'll remember that one." He let out another chuckle before rejoining the others and I breathed out comfortably before snaking my out of the now warm kitchen and towards the door.

My purse hung where I left it on the coat rack and I made sure to unlock the door before I slipped out into the night air. A quick smoke while nobody was around wouldn't hurt right? Well my lungs might disagree but as I slipped the deathstick between my lips there was no room to care. I puffed into the cool night air waiting for the party to end. What I certainly didn't expect was to see Reid, dressed to leave, appear beside me.

He nodded lightly, taking in my small shivering form.

"Six minutes."

"Death is but crossing-" I froze midway through my response.

Maybe my eyes widened in shock when I realized I hadn't processed my words before answering. For a brief moment it felt like a normal conversation with Athena, though that seemed silly since he had only said two words. My intention wasn't to stubbornly find some outlet of contradiction with this man who was basically a stranger. I anticipated silence, hopefully he hadn't made any connections with what I had been about to say.

"Were you about to quote William Penn?"

I shifted some snow with my foot and bit my tongue.

"Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still. For they must needs be present, that love and live in that which is omnipresent. In this divine glass, they see face to face; and their converse is free as well as pure. This is the comfort of friends, that though they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever present, because immortal."

This time I met his gaze.

"You just tried to use a quote by William Penn to justify smoking."

He seemed incredulous and a smile played at his lips. On the other hand I was completely embarrassed. This time I tried a more honest approach.

"If you don't actually know the quote it works much better."

"So you've used it for such purpose before?" He didn't seem to want to let this one go. I tried brushing it off with a shrug.

"If they couldn't figure out what the quote meant then I'm not the one with the problem."

"No I think in this case both parties are subject to fault. One for ignorance and the other fallacy."

I squished my cigarette against the snow and held the dying embers between my fingers gingerly as I glanced back at him. He didn't look angry but rather smug as if a winner in some sense since his words had conducted a small battle of attrition against my stubbornly bad habit. It grated on me.

"You know logical fallacies are used most often in persuasion."

"What is your name, you didn't say much inside."

Maybe I was shocked by the abrupt change in conversation, or by the fact that he had noticed my existence earlier but I replied without thought again.

"Herring Lee."

I tried to cover myself, holding my hands out like I could physically stop any sort of reaction to my name even after his eyes widened in surprise.

"My mother was a huge fan of Van Gogh, she's a painter herself although she keeps her canvas's out of sight, and one of her favorite paintings is of two herring. I don't know why it wasn't a very well-known...and anyways he didn't even use the word 'Herring' in the title. I suspect it has something to do with my dad, he had a copy of that painting I guess. I mean I never really met him but you know how that works and I...um"

I shut up, to put it plainly.

The air stilled and my fingers itched to stuff that nicotine in my mouth and forget everything. Instead I remained motionless and the silence stretched on. He shuffled a bit most likely due the tense air but I could pretend he was just a bit cold. Without looking my way he adjusted the strap to his bag, it reminded me of that of a professor.

"I can't say I've heard of that particular piece. Although I do commend your mother on her more creative pursuits." His eyes chuckled as though there were some hidden joke. Can eyes actually chuckle? Why was I looking at his eyes again?

"My name is Spencer Reid and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Lee."

I gingerly shuffled and started to nod but my lips were faster.

"Likewise Dr. Reid."

In the dark under the light pollution cast around us, I think we both smiled.


	2. Burning the Disc with A Record on Repeat

Getting caught in the rain wasn't all it's cracked up to be. The date had been normal and all. Just some talk but mainly silence as we both chose to sit and listen to the symphony play.

Right now though I couldn't even begin to remember what we had watched as we made a break for the car. Both of us using our non-hooded coat necks as ineffective umbrellas because neither of us brought one. Wonderful planning on both our parts.

Life Lesson of Life: Always bring an umbrella with you. Everywhere. Always.

Oh I'm sorry date? How did it come to this so fast? Well it didn't.

It didn't come that fast that is. There was sort of a successive series of running into each other, repeatedly. Ultimately in a planned fashion I was unaware of. Cliche right? Oh heck you decide:

* * *

 _The cafe I worked at was not necessarily a popular place. There were the average customers who ate our average food and we had the fair share of regulars who claimed our coffee to be the best in the city. Honestly as I mopped up one of the spilled sugar infused beverages I could care less about its relative appeal because let me tell you the stickiness in my shoes was less than appealing._

 _Maybe I should pretend to be a customer and write a review._

 _'The coffee tastes fine, but what I love are the employees always working their butts off to make the morning a delight. Now the guy who owns this joints needs to think more about everyone else than his fat greedy ass-'_

 _I pulled back the mop and felt my elbow sink into flesh. I cut my inner monologue to stuttering halt and resisted the urge to pretend I felt nothing._

 _"Ouch"_

 _Well then, screw pretending, time to suck up._

 _My first reaction was to turn with an open mouth and gauge the anger of whichever customer I just injured thinking that I was ready to accept any consequences._

 _And I turned right back around._

 _"Hey hey now you could at least say sorry. Server custom typically dictates such a...do I know you from somewhere?"_

 _I turned back around._

 _And then turned back again._

 _"Oh yeah from the party, Herring wasn't it?"_

 _There wasn't really a question in his statement. I just wish there was. I mean, no way he would forget that kind of name. Yeah he remembered me alright._

 _"Hey."_

 _My voice was less than normal as I cracked a smile. Quite literally too, I felt my face crack as a struggled between obedient server and scared embarrassed little girl._

 _"I didn't realize you worked here, I would've stopped by sometime and grabbed a coffee on my way to the bookstore."_

 _That might've been a normal man flirting. If it'd been Mr. Muscle my name is Derek Morgan I would've blushed and immediately understood the undertone. Instead I still blushed in a half confused and half excited kind of way._

 _This was Doctor Spencer Reid. From what I understood of his personality he does not flirt, he does not make jokes, and he is genius. I fumbled for a way out of my head and out of the silence my non-response had slowly begun adding._

 _"So what bookstore do you go to?"_

 _"Oh Harold's Shop just around the corner."_

 _"Hey me too. I haven't seen you there before."_

 _"I'm relatively new. A friend recommended it and I happened to enjoy the selection of Arthur Conan Doyle." He grew a bit quiet, or I should say his face gained a bit of rigid composure as if holding something back. I didn't pry but I sensed an end to the conversation._

 _"Maybe I'll see you there."_

 _"Yeah maybe I'll come back for coffee too."_

 _I smiled and he left._

* * *

 _Two days. My fingers rested on the worn cover of War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells and I debated taking it out for a third time. The old man at the counter might laugh but what good was a library card if you didn't take out books you like anyhow._

 _The light flickered as I neatly pulled the weathered binding from its shelf._

 _"Seems like a doozy is on its way."_

 _I smiled. Some people had this way of speaking that made you happy._

 _"Yes 75% chance of hail and it's 4:02 so I bet the north end has found out how right the weatherman might be."_

 _I peeked around the shelf to observe the new voice. It was that man from the party. Oh dear it was the doctor! Doctor something or other... My mind drew a blank as sparks fizzled in my head and I felt a nervous sweat come on. It was Dr. Spencer Reid fleshy and all._

 _Our eyes met and he noticed me. As in he noticed me sporting some glasses, no makeup, extra baggy sweater and long shapeless skirt to match with unshowered hair. Ackgh. Partway through my incessant internal sizing up of myself on this particularly fine day I realized foaming at the mouth in frustration over my lack of give-a-damn in the appearance quadrant would make for an even less attractive picture. I attempted a smile on the off chance he recognized, crossing my fingers for a 'no'...oh dear he smiled back._

 _"Ah. Herring was it?"_

 _He didn't hesitate and my name rolled off his tongue easily. It almost sounded normal for him to call out to me. Scratch that my name almost sounded normal rolling off his tongue. Wait rolling off...ahhh shut up shut up!_

 _"Yes yes hello."_

 _I answered quickly before the mind wandered out again into uncharted territory._

 _"Nice to see you."_

 _"Likewise."_

 _I smiled. He smiled. We didn't speak another word._

 _I was leaving the bookstore, he had just come in. A natural casual run-in. Shouldn't happen again._

 _Bullshit._

* * *

 _And then it happened again. I narrowed my eyes a sneaking suspicion, the same places at the same times, never once before yet now every week._

 _Here we were again at the, huh coincidence, same bank fifteen minutes after my regular shift ended. Oh weird just like last week and the week before. F-U-N-N-Y_

 _Well not that I wasn't pleased, if he was indeed psuedo-stalking me, I was definitely attracted and intrigued by him. Plus I didn't mind when he called my name, it was sorta nice...on occasion._

 _Then again the more I got to know him, the more I reasoned he couldn't possibly be into someone like me. Coffee shop girl who likes reading and cats at the tender age of, well we can leave age out of this, but regardless average men would find me boring not to mention genius men with touch-me hair and fantastic smiles._

 _Yet here he was with a small wave and smile as if waiting for me at the bank._

 _I bit my tongue before I embarrassed myself and flat out asked him. There would be no inserting of foot or fist into mouth today I hoped._

 _Then again my smile was probably off when I greeted him or I probably unconsciously made a face. He told me early on that my face gave away everything._

 _"So what's on your mind?"_

 _The autumn air had a slight chill and he stuffed his hands back in his pockets and maybe that's when I noticed his face. Well, when I noticed the state of being of his face. Pink enough to have been waiting in the cold for longer than need be._

 _"Did you wait long?"_

 _Wait noooooo, take that back! What if he hadn't waited for me. Oh I know he ran into someone he knew, they talked outside for awhile, longer than expected. Yup, insert foot._

 _"Actually I didn't," and insert fist too. I closed my eyes._

 _"but thanks for asking. You didn't take as long as usual."_

 _"Eh"_

 _"Oh I said you didn't take-"_

 _"Really?!" My voice was probably a little loud. "I mean sorry for cutting you off."_

 _"No its fine I sense that your outburst was in a sense of disbelief."_

 _"Y-yeah I guess."_

 _"Well I was actually going to ask if you wanted to go with me to Theatre of the Arts this weekend there's a lineup that I'd like to see with you."_

 _Heart attack ahead._

 _"Cliche." It came out as more of a whisper than I intended. But I was ear to ear and he smiled back. The cold turned his cheeks a little pinker._

 _"Well based on your literary pursuits I would say cliche was the best option to ask you out."_

 _I was too happy to argue._

* * *

Did I still go too fast? The build up was minor I got that, but what is most important right now was in fact the rain!

Actually I lied. Regardless of the rain he still got the door for me and assured me he didn't care how wet the seats got. In all honesty neither did I.

He started the car and we sat there taking it all in while the vehicle did it's thing. Outside the rain literally pounded on the roof. It hadn't rained this awful in God knows how long.

Neither of us listened to the radio or talked much for that matter. Both focused on the road or the visual lack thereof. Rain making it more than hard to see. Ten minutes turned to twenty and then thirty until over an hour later we finally made it to my apartment as he pulled into a free parking spot and we both breathed a sigh of relief.

I giggled leaning back and looking at him.

"Either you're lucky or you don't suck at driving."

"It's magic."

He had his eyes closed but he looked tense.

"Oh my Spencer Reid made a joke."

He smiled and pulled his head up to look at me.  
I bit my lip.

"Thanks for the ride and all."

"No problem."

I glanced outside and then back at him.

"Your place is quite a bit further out."

"Yeah."

Silence. I fisted my dress with one hand nervous.

"I think it'd be safer if you stayed here...until the rain stops of course!"

Aw shit.


End file.
